


After Hours

by laurus_nobilis



Category: The Transformers (Cartoon Generation One)
Genre: M/M, Pre-Canon
Language: Español
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-05-01
Updated: 2014-05-01
Packaged: 2018-01-21 11:34:25
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 816
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1549100
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/laurus_nobilis/pseuds/laurus_nobilis
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Starscream always has an ulterior motive. The problem is figuring out what it is this time.</p>
            </blockquote>





	After Hours

**Author's Note:**

> Written for Cotton Candy Bingo with the prompt "Keys".

Skyfire would have liked to tell himself that he had no idea of how he'd ended up in this situation, but that would be a lie, and lying to himself was rather pointless. He knew perfectly well why he had agreed to do this. Starscream was just that persuasive. The best part was that his partner hadn't even _said_ all that much. It was his confidence that was hard to resist. And maybe that grin.

"We shouldn't be here," he said anyway, in a quiet voice, even though he was sure that it was pointless. He just felt the need to express his dissent.

"Why not? We have the key," Starscream replied. "The entire point of having one is that we can come here whenever we want. And don't bother whispering like that, it's not like there's anyone in the building."

"We can't be sure. Besides, having a key doesn't mean we can sneak around like this."

"Skyfire, we're not sneaking around. It's _our_ laboratory."

"It's also very late and not exactly working hours."

Starscream just tilted his head and gave him a bored look.

"Are you coming in or do you plan to stay in the hallway forever?"

With a sigh, Skyfire crossed the doorway and entered the laboratory at last. After all, he was already here. Not giving that one last step didn't make much of a difference.

"See? The world didn't end," Starscream teased, as he gave a quick jump to sit on one of the workbenches. He hadn't even checked to see if there were any instruments on it before he did that. It was all quite unsafe.

"Very funny," he huffed. "Get down from there. It's not-"

"It's _clean_."

"You don't know that!"

"Of course I do, I work here, you dolt."

"There's another turn after ours, Starscream."

That got him to make an odd face, as if trying not to grimace. Skyfire knew him well enough by now to tell that he was far too proud to get down from that bench, even with those new ideas in his mind. It'd mean admitting he was wrong.

"This is why need our own lab," Starscream muttered. "I can't believe they're so stingy."

Skyfire just smiled a little and shook his head. They _didn't_ need a whole laboratory to themselves, of course, and the decision of sharing one with other teams was a practical one. With all the time they spent off-planet, it would be ridiculous to keep an entire lab closed and unused until they returned, when so many others could benefit from it. But they had had this argument many times now, so he knew better than to start it again. It wasn't worth the effort, and Starscream liked complaining.

"Why was it so important to come here in the middle of the night, anyway?" he asked instead, trying to steer the conversation towards a more productive direction.

"Because it has just the right view for the star chart I'm planning to begin. And yes, it's better to do it from here with a smaller telescope than to go to the observatory, I already checked."

"Oh," was all that Skyfire managed to reply for a moment. "That's… very reasonable."

Starscream didn't seem to be offended by his reaction. On the contrary, his expression became even more mischievous.

"Why, you _wound_ me, Skyfire," he said. "It's almost as if you thought I was going to do something _bad_."

"I still think you might," Skyfire told him, and he was only half joking. "If you had a good reason, why didn't you say so in the first place?"

"You look cute when you're conflicted."

"That's a terrible excuse, and an even worse compliment."

"It's still true," Starscream said. Skyfire should have protested, he supposed, but that answer was oddly adorable. Not that he'd every say that aloud. He really shouldn't encourage this kind of behavior.

"Come on. Let's set up that telescope then," he said simply.

He picked up Starscream from his bench with ease. It helped that, as loudly as he protested, he wasn't in fact putting up the slightest fight. Not that Skyfire would have any trouble moving him if he _did_ resist, but this was very obviously just for show. Starscream was making himself comfortable in the nook of his arm at the same time as he complained about the supposed affront to his dignity.

It was something Skyfire didn't mind at all. This was going to be a long night taking measurements, after all. Might as well make it enjoyable.

Then he stopped in his tracks. That line of thought was… well, as much as he hated to admit it, it was _predictable_.

"Wait. Was _this_ your plan all along?"

"Almost," Starscream said, the very picture of innocence. Skyfire chuckled and shook his head.

"You could just ask, you know."

But he leaned down and kissed him, anyway.


End file.
